Best way to aquascape for BTAs?

[velvetelvis]

OK, I guess this might be a goofy question, but I'm planning to get a cloned BTA for my clowns, and I'm just wondering if there's a "best" way to aquascape the tank to provide for the anemone's needs/preferences in terms of flow, lighting, etc. My tank is a 34G Solana w/a 150W/14K MH light. Flow is provided by 2 Vortech MP10 powerheads (very pricey, but I had major surgery and was cured of a serious illness a couple of months ago, so I figured I'd splurge to celebrate ).

I'm thinking of redoing the aquascape because in spite of my best intentions, it's sort of degenerated into a generic pile-o'-live-rock. I have a lot of round, boulder-like pieces, which doesn't help with that...anyway, any suggestions? I'm actually considering getting rid of some of the LR I have and replacing it with different shapes that allow for something more open. TIA!

 

[E.intheC]

few things.. First, Congrats on the successful surgery and your intelligent purchase of the mp10s! You'll love them.

Second, it's very tough to aquascape in such a small tank. Do you have other corals that you're keeping, and do you have large rock pieces or small?

Do you like a minimalist look? These are all questions you're going to have to ask yourself. The major thing I'd be concerned with a BTA is getting it high enough in the tank so that it's happy and isolated so that it won't be stung by neighboring aggressive corals, and won't cause problems with less aggressive species.

Take a look at some of the other rockscaping threads to get some better ideas. I'd start with the Solana club thread and the minimalist aquascaping thread first

 

[velvetelvis]

Thanks. I have a few frags of Pocillopora that I'm going to donate to a friend who's getting into aquaculture. They're Dr. Mac frags, so they're really nice. I know a lot of people successfully combine corals and anemones, but especially in such a small tank I think you need to pick a genre and stick with it. The only sessile inverts in the tank will be my collection of featherduster worms, and whatever sprouts out of the LR. I'm intending to plan the tank around the nem's needs, as it will be the most demanding species in it.

I lurrve my MP10s. It's a big advantage being able to randomize the flow, and IMO the cost was worth it just for the ease of maintenance--no more pulling off the entire contraption and soaking it in a bucket overnight to get all the gunk off/out. I'm thinking that not having detritus and cr@p sucked into the motor also extends the life of the powerhead a good bit. The clowns seem to enjoy the Vortechs too--when the lagoon setting kicks into high gear, they often both race back to their favorite spot and swim into the current. I guess it's a little workout for them.

I have a couple of fairly large boulders and some smaller pieces. The only one I'm set on keeping is the biggest boulder of Fiji maricultured rock, because it has all kinds of interesting stuff coming out of it--scroll algae, sponges, Halimeda, etc.

I'll take your suggestion and go have a look at those forums/threads.

 

[E.intheC]

excellent. Those threads (as well as others) are what I used as inspiration for my current rock scape.

I love the idea of a 'nem and clown species tank, especially with RBTA's. If I still had the Solana (currently have the tank in my signature) I'd have it setup very similar to your idea here.

One more thread recommendation: check out the stickied thread at the top of the clown/nem forum "27 clowns in a tank" (not exact name ). That thread has tons of excellent pics and information.

Oh, and thanks for excusing my initial disorganization and run-on sentences in the previous post

 

[gophilau]

I thing the BTA could constently move for getting the right spot for her !!!
so maybe you place your BTA to the spot you want but if she preferd a odder place
like on the back aquascaping ?